Well then.
After weeks of rumours, confusion, cryptic comments and enough speculation to keep the Maggots arguing until the next album cycle, Slipknot have officially confirmed that longtime turntablist Sid Wilson is no longer associated with the band.
And because this is Slipknot weโre talking about, even the announcement has already become part of the mystery.
The band posted a short statement across their social media channels on Friday, 14 August 2026, confirming Wilsonโs departure โ before subsequently deleting the post.
Yep.
Posted.
Confirmed.
Deleted.
Nothing is ever straightforward in the Slipknot camp, is it? ๐ณ๐ค
๐ง SLIPKNOT CONFIRM SID WILSONโS EXIT
The statement was brutally brief:
โEffective immediately, Slipknot will no longer be associated with Sid Wilson. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.โ
And that was it.
No lengthy farewell.
No retrospective celebrating nearly three decades together.
No explanation of what happened.
Just a very clear statement that the relationship between Slipknot and Sid Wilson is over.
The wording is particularly striking.
Rather than simply saying Wilson had โleft the bandโ or that the two parties had โparted waysโ, Slipknot said they would โno longer be associatedโ with him.
That is some seriously cold wording, mun. ๐ฅถ
But until either Slipknot or Wilson provides further details, fans should be careful about reading too much into the exact language.
What we do know is that Wilsonโs extraordinary run with one of metalโs most recognisable bands appears to have reached its end.
๐ณ THEN THE POST DISAPPEARED
Because apparently the story wasnโt strange enough already, Slipknotโs announcement subsequently disappeared from the bandโs social media.
The statement had already spread rapidly across the metal world before the post vanished.
Why was it deleted?
At the time of writing, Slipknot havenโt publicly explained why.
And weโre not going to start inventing reasons.
Maybe another statement is coming.
Maybe there are legal or management considerations.
Maybe somebody simply decided they didnโt want the announcement permanently sitting on the bandโs socials.
Right now, we simply donโt know.
But bloody hell, itโs certainly got everybody talking.
๐ค SID WILSON AND SLIPKNOT โ THE END OF AN ERA
For longtime Slipknot fans, this one is going to feel massive.
Wilson joined Slipknot in 1998, becoming the masked lunatic known as #0 and an integral part of the classic nine-man incarnation of the band.
And calling Sid โthe DJโ never really explained what he brought to Slipknot.
This was a bloke who treated a Slipknot stage like somebody had accidentally left the doors open at the asylum.
Turntables.
Samples.
Scratching.
Diving off things that sensible humans would definitely not dive off.
Fighting with bandmates as part of the performance.
Running around stages like heโd consumed seventeen cans of energy drink and been told the floor was lava.
Sid wasnโt simply standing behind some decks.
Sid Wilson was chaos with a gas mask.
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
His manic physical presence became part of the visual identity that helped transform Slipknot from an underground Iowa nightmare into one of the biggest metal bands on Earth.
๐ฟ SID WAS THERE FOR THE CLASSIC SLIPKNOT YEARS
Wilsonโs time with Slipknot stretches across almost the entire recorded history of the band.
He was there as the world discovered the madness of the 1999 self-titled album.
He was there when Iowa arrived in 2001 and Slipknot somehow became even heavier, darker and more terrifying.
He was part of the evolution heard on Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses).
He remained through All Hope Is Gone, .5: The Gray Chapter, We Are Not Your Kind and The End, So Far.
Festival headline slots.
Arena tours.
World tours.
Grammy recognition.
Platinum records.
Line-up changes.
Tragedy.
Reinvention.
Masks.
Fire.
Explosions.
And enough circle pits to alter the Earthโs rotation.
Sid Wilson was there.
๐ฅ FROM NINE MASKED MANIACS TO METAL SUPERSTARS
For a certain generation of metalhead, Slipknot werenโt merely another band.
Seeing the original nine members together was an event.
Sid Wilson.โจJoey Jordison.โจPaul Gray.โจChris Fehn.โจCraig Jones.โจShawn โClownโ Crahan.โจMick Thomson.โจJim Root.โจCorey Taylor.
Nine people creating what often looked less like a concert and more like an industrial accident accompanied by blast beats.
That lineup became iconic.
Paul Gray tragically died in 2010.
Joey Jordison left the group in 2013 and sadly died in 2021.
Chris Fehn departed in 2019.
Craig Jones left in 2023.
And now Sid Wilsonโs chapter has apparently closed too.
For fans who discovered Slipknot during those early years, seeing another member of that classic nine disappear from the lineup is inevitably emotional.
๐ THE RUMOURS STARTED WEEKS AGO
Wilsonโs status had already become one of metalโs biggest talking points before Slipknotโs statement appeared.
Reports had emerged claiming Wilson was no longer part of the group after approximately 28 years.
At that point, however, Slipknot themselves hadnโt formally confirmed anything.
Then guitarist Jim Root added another layer of confusion when he publicly warned fans not to believe everything they read.
Which naturally sent the internet into full detective mode.
Was Sid still in?
Was the original report wrong?
Was something being negotiated behind the scenes?
Nobody outside the situation really knew.
Then came the August 14 statement.
For the first time, Slipknot themselves appeared to provide a definitive answer.
Sid Wilson and Slipknot were finished.
And then they deleted it.
Because of course they did.
๐
๐๏ธ THE SITUATION HAD ALREADY BECOME CONFUSING
Even before Slipknotโs statement, the situation surrounding Wilsonโs position in the band had become increasingly unclear.
Comments from different members and public appearances had left fans questioning exactly what was happening behind the scenes.
So imagine being a Slipknot fan trying to follow this story.
Reports say heโs out.
Members appear to cast doubt on those reports.
Then Slipknot say heโs out.
Slipknot delete the statement.
Mate.
We need one of those crime investigation boards with photographs and red string at this point.
๐๐งถ
โ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Thatโs the massive question.
Slipknot have not announced a permanent replacement for Wilson alongside the departure statement, nor have they publicly laid out exactly what the bandโs live configuration will look like moving forward.
And Slipknot have never exactly been afraid of change.
The band has survived the loss and departure of several major members while continuing to headline enormous festivals and arenas around the world.
But replacing Sid isnโt simply about finding somebody who can operate turntables and trigger samples.
Youโre replacing Sid Wilson.
Youโre replacing #0.
Youโre replacing one of the personalities responsible for making early Slipknot feel so completely unhinged.
Whoever eventually occupies that space โ assuming Slipknot chooses to fill it in the same way โ has one hell of a mask to fill.
๐ค THANK YOU, #0
Whatever circumstances ultimately led to this split, Sid Wilsonโs contribution to Slipknotโs history is enormous.
For nearly three decades he helped provide the scratches, samples, electronics and sheer unpredictable madness that made Slipknot sound โ and look โ unlike almost anything else in mainstream metal.
There are generations of Maggots who grew up watching this bloke launch himself around stages like gravity was merely a polite suggestion.
There are countless Slipknot performances where youโd look away from Corey Taylor for five seconds and suddenly Sid was climbing something he definitely shouldnโt have been climbing.
That was part of the magic.
He wasnโt background decoration.
He was part of the circus.
Part of the danger.
Part of the noise.
Part of Slipknot.
And after roughly 28 years, that era appears to be over.
Whatever happens next, #0 has already carved his name into metal history.
๐ค๐ค
Thank you for the chaos, Sid.
The masks may change.
The lineup may evolve.
But bloody hellโฆ
those original nine changed metal forever.
๐ฅ THE RIFF REPORT โ PROUDLY WELSH. PROUDLY LOUD.
